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Indian banks have five MANGALORE, Mar 12: Indian banks have about five years to shape up to face the challenges of unfettered competition and banks need to introduce...more GNLF calls off bandh, Ghising to continue as caretaker SILIGURI, Mar 12: The Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) has called off its 72-hour bandh in Darjeeling hills from March 16 after the West Bengal ...more Haryana Assembly session from Mar 21: Hooda AMBALA, Mar 12: A two day Haryana Assembly session will be summoned on March 21 and vote of account would .....more IAF exercise in Car Nicobar in April Advanced Jet Trainers to arrive by 2007 KOLKATA, Mar 12: The Indian Air Force will get its Advanced Jet Trainers (AJTs) ...more |
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Advanced Jet Trainers to arrive by 2007 KOLKATA, Mar 12: The Indian Air Force will get its Advanced Jet Trainers (AJTs) from 2007 and is also considering to set up a separate aerospace . ......more Jamaat
criticises JAIPUR,
Mar 12:
Criticising introduction of compulsory BJP
prepares for HOSHIARPUR, Mar 12: The BJP will raise the issue in the coming session of Punjab Vidhan Sabha regarding the arrear....more RSS
to push for reconversion of those MANGALORE, Mar 12: Blaming religious conversions and shifting mindsets for the "continuous decline" in the Hindu population, the RSS today decided......more |
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RSS condemns attack on publication office ..... Indian Panchayat leaders leave for Pakistan today ..... There is a need to change the present election system: CEC .... |
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Indian banks have five years to face unlimited competition MANGALORE, Mar 12: Indian banks have about five years to shape up to face the challenges of unfettered competition and banks need to introduce better man management policies to be competitive in a new banking era, Reserve Bank of India deputy Governor V Leeladhar said today. Launching the centenary celebrations of Managlore-based public sector corporation bank and delivering the foundation day lecture on "managing talent in banks" here, Leeladhar said, if banks manage the right talent, performance and compensation, they should be on the threshold of a brave new era in Indian banking. He said the roadmap envisaged for the Indian banking sector outlines that they have about five years to gear up to face challenges of unfettered competition. Leeladhar said the Centre has announced a slew of human resources autonomy incentives for banks that perform better as a step to push for major banking reforms in the country. "Differential pay structures, lateral hiring, contract employment and perhaps, performance linked pay as a sub component of the compensation structure may turn out to be a potent talent management instrument in public sector banks," he said. Leeladhar said while the debate on merits of performance linked pay remains open and is contingent on an effective Performance Appraisal System (PAS) being in place, the risks may be manageable if the performance management system is well designed and carefully implemented. "Of course, this (pay package) is an area where bank managements need to design carefully calibrated institution specific responses," Leeladhar said. He said the banking sector cannot afford setbacks from people due to misalignment of mutual expectations, pension job mismatch, perception of poor career advancement prospects and work-life imbalance. "Standing as we do at the cusp of major role shifts and organisational transformations, every successful talent management strategy would have to have the right mix of push (motivation, recognition, career progression, etc) and pull (tangible factors like higher pay and better benefits) plans," he said. Corporation Bank Chairman and Managing Director V K Chopra said the bank has initiated several programmes during the centenary celebrations, which include setting up a hi-tech public library with a research-cum-study centre, a yoga centre and a numismatic museum, rural development activities with a thrust on education, besides launching innovative products. As a first step, Chopra said, the bank is launching the corp Kisan Debit Card, with a tie-up from visa international, to enable farmers make timely purchases for agricultural operations. The card would be launched at Yeshwantpur, Malur in Kolar district in the state tomorrow, he said. (PTI) |
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GNLF calls off bandh, Ghising to continue as caretaker SILIGURI, Mar 12: The Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) has called off its 72-hour bandh in Darjeeling hills from March 16 after the West Bengal Government accepted its demand that Subhas Ghising would continue as caretaker after the expiry of the term of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council on March 26. Ghishing, the GNLF supremo and DGHC chairman, himself announced the decision at the Gymkhana club in darjeeling this afternoon and said he was grateful to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for accepting the GNLF demand. Ghising, who presided over the GNLF central committee meeting to review the latest situation and decide the future course of action, however, remained non-committal about the front’s next round of agitations saying it would decide about the other bandh calls after March 26. Darjeeling District Branch Committee president of GNLF, Dipak Gurung told PTI over phone that Bhattacharjee had assured ghising over phone yesterday that he would be made the head of the caretaker Council as per GNLF demand and also requested Ghising to withdraw the proposed bandh beginning from March 16. Ghising himself had disclosed the development to the Central Committee meeting of the party, Gurung said. Gurung said GNLF chairman as well as rank and file of the front were happy with the decision of the State Government as there was a sense of uncertainty in the hills following agitational programmes announced by GNLF earlier. The GNLF had earlier threatened to launch a sustained agitation programme to force the West Bengal Government to allow Ghising to continue as caretaker after the expiry of the term of DGHC, which has been headed by Ghising for the last 15 years. Ghising has been reluctant to hold fresh elections now. The State Government had announced earlier that an administrator would be appointed after the expiry of DGHC term and for this a bill was scheduled to be introduced in the ongoing budget session of the WB Assembly. Meanwhile, Madan Tamang, the chief of People’s Democratic Front, the political rival of GNLF, described the State Government’s decision to accept ghising’s demand as ‘unconstitutional and illegal.’ Government should think twice before reaching a final decision, he said. (PTI) |
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Haryana Assembly session from Mar 21: Hooda AMBALA, Mar 12: A two day Haryana Assembly session will be summoned on March 21 and vote of account would also be presented in it, it Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said here today. Addressing worker meeting in District Congress Bhawan at Ambala city on the occasion of 75th anniversary of Daandi Yatra in which he administrated oath to party workers, he said that his Government had decided to hold the Panchayat election at the earliest. The notification in this regard would be issued on March 17. Speaking to reporters, he said that the elections of Municipal Council would also be conducted at appropriate time. He said that the party had not decided so far whether to contest Municipal Council elections on party symbol or not. He said that the power would not be Centralised as it was in the former Government regime but it would be decenterlised at every level. When asked whether the status of fromer deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal placed in public places by the previous Chautala Government would be dismantled as earlier announced by the former HVP chief and now Congress senior leader Bansi Lal, he said that his Government would not do so out of revenge. He said that uppermost priority would be given to maintain law and order in the state and make it corruption free and fear free. Referring to Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) issue, he said that it was not merely an election issue it was the life line of Haryana. He alleged that his predecessor Om Prakash Chautala had tried to take political benefit by blowing up the issue. He said that the matter was pending with the Supreme Court and his Government would accept the decision of the court in this regard. Replying a question, he said that the he would expand the cabinet when ever it was needed. Hooda said the financial situation of the state was poor when this Government came in power even then the development works in the state would not suffer.(PTI) IAF exercise in Car Nicobar
in April KOLKATA, Mar 12: The Indian Air Force will get its Advanced Jet Trainers (AJTs) from 2007 and is also considering to set up a separate aerospace command to safeguard its satellites and equipment in the space. Talking to newspersons here, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi said the Advanced Jet Trainers were expected to arrive from 2007 and it would start with hawk aircraft from the UK. "Besides, there is a requirement for 126 multirole combat aircraft. And for this, the requests for information have been sent to the US-based Lockheed Company which manufactures the F-16 aircraft, a Russian company which manufactures the MiG-29, a French company manufacturing Mirage and a Belgium company," he said. "It’s a matter of two billion dollars and for that, evaluation of the offers is on," he said. He said initially 24 hawk aircraft would arrive, four each in six months, and later 42 aircraft would follow which would be assembled here. Air Marshal Tyagi said to the existing three Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), they have placed an order for 20 such LCA. "We are expecting those by 2008," he said, adding that upgradation process of the Jaguar, MiG and MI-35 was on. Talking about the accident rates of the various aircraft, he said, "the graph has come down and it should come down faster and further." Though he held human failure behind the accidents, he said, "the pilots were capable enough." He also said the joint training programme with the US would continue and it was of mutual benefit. He disclosed that IAF will conduct combat aircraft exercise at Car Nicobar in the Tsunami-ravaged Andaman and Nicobar Islands in April. He said the air force has undertaken a considerable amount of relief work in the past couple of months, particularly to combat the Tsunami devastation and to airlift the victims in Jammu and Kashmir following the unprecedented heavy snowfall there. "Over 100 iaf personnel and some of their family members have died in Car Nicobar alone. However, the IAF men have also rescued more than 300 marooned people from the Tsunami-ravaged islands," he said. "The IAF airlifted a huge amount of fuel, food and medicines to Jammu and Kashmir. However, airlifting kerosene was a major problem as there was no long airstrip to accommodate landing of the airtanker. Though barrels were not supposed to be carried in the aircraft, the fuel had to be carried in cargo ships in barrles only, after all, it was a war-like situation," he said. (AGENCIES) |
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RSS to push for reconversion of those who left Hinduism MANGALORE, Mar 12: Blaming religious conversions and shifting mindsets for the "continuous decline" in the Hindu population, the RSS today decided to give a push to reconversion of those who had embraced other faiths. The three-day annual conclave of Akhila Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, the policy-making body of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, gave a call to Hindu religious and social leaders to make reconversion a regular part of their socio-religious activites. It also decried the "apathy" towards conversions and "indifference" towards the issue of home-coming by the Hindu society and called for a shift in the Hindu mindset over the matter. ABPS said that separatist and terrorist activities had mushroomed in areas where the percentage of Hindus had declined. Terming "continuous decline" in the proportion of Hindu population all over India as an issue of grave concern, the gathering of around 1,200 delegates from over 30 Sangh Parivar organisations, including the BJP, adopted a resolution on the issue of the declining Hindu population. It said from 1881, every census showed decline in Hindu percentage, and the 2001 census figures have shown that Hindus have turned into a "minority in some parts of India and are on the verge of turning into a minority in some other parts". "The disastrous consequences of the decline in percentage of Hindu population are revealed in many ways. The dangers posed due to this decline to democracy, secularism, pluralistic social order, respect for other religious faiths which are the highlights of Hindu ethos are well known," the resolution said. It said though elements, which believed in religious conversions, "are behind this (declining Hindu population), the tendency of Hindu society to neglect this perilous problem" was also responsible. "The apathy towards conversions and indifference towards the issue of homecoming are the symptoms of this tendency. There is an urgent need for a shift in the Hindu mindset over this issue, and all Hindus be awakened to work towards this," it said. Abps asked the heads of religious sects and institutions such as Mutts and Mandirs, Vihars and Gurudwaras to play a vital role for "promoting systematic efforts for the homecoming must become a regular part of their socio-religious activities". (PTI) |
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RSS condemns attack on publication office MANGALORE, Mar 12: RSS today condemned the attack on the Mumbai office of India Today group, but said there was a justifiable case for peaceful protest against Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar. "We are always opposed to any protest which takes the form of violence," RSS spokesman Ram Madhav told reporters here. In a democracy, everybody has the right to register protest, but it is not expected to take a violent turn." "Violent act cannot be supported by anybody. It’s condemnable," he said. But, Madhav stressed that the (peaceful) protest against the individual (Aiyar) is very much justified. Aiyar "humiliated" the memory of Veer Savarkar and the minister’s subsequent statements on the Savarkar issue had deeply hurt the sentiments of the people. "We expect protest to be peaceful. Violent reaction is condemnable. We don’t support such violent reaction," he added. A group of around 30 men, allegedly belonging to the Shiv Sena, ransacked the Mumbai office of the India Today group where Aiyar was scheduled to attend an award function yesterday. Meanwhile, RSS called upon the people in general and RSS workers in particular to organise programmes commemorating the centenary of Vande Mataram Movement between July 20 and August 15 this year. "This effort will strengthen our integrated national life and pave the way for the Bharatiya nationalism to March towards its cherished goal of Akhand Bharat", said another resolution passed at the ABPS, which paid its homage to the leaders on the centenary occasion of the movement against the partition of Bengal. It was noted that in pursuance of their devious "divide and rule" policy, the British, through Lord Curzon, had announced the Bengal partition plan on July 20, 1905. But, following strong protests and the anti-Partition movement, King George ‘V’ had to undo the partition of Bengal in 1911. (PTI) Indian Panchayat leaders leave for Pakistan today NEW DELHI, Mar 12: A 36-member delegation of members of Panchayats and Municipalities from 19 states will travel to Pakistan tomorrow to interact with their counterparts there. The elected representatives of Indian local bodies will cross the Wagah border tomorrow to begin a 16-day visit of all the four provinces of Pakistan, according to Santosh Singh of Institute of Social Sciences, which is organising the visit. The delegation members from Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and other states are returning a visit by the ‘Nazims’ (elected heads of district Governments in Pakistan) in July last year. "The visit of the Nazims paved the way for more such people-to-people interactions, said Mr Singh. Our local Government representatives are keen to learn about local Government institutions in Pakistan." The visitors will go to Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Karachi and Hyderabad covering the provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and north-west frontier province. Last year, the ‘Nazims’ had visited Punjab, Delhi, West Bengal, Karnataka and Kerala to hold interactions with Panchayat leaders. The delegation will meet the Director General, Provincial Minister and the Federal Minister of Local Government and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Women’s issues. A visit to ancestral village of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Gah, Punjab province, will be another highlight. "Visits like these are necessary to promote peace," Mr Singh said. (UNI) There is a need to change the present election system: CEC MUMBAI, Mar 12: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) T S Krishnamurthy today stressed the need for changing the election system so as to allow the party, securing the maximum percentage of votes, to be declared the winner instead of the present system wherein a candidate who polls the highest number of votes wins. Mr Krishnamurthy was delivering the 15th T V Chidambaram Memorial Lecture at the sies college here today. The CEC pointed out that under the present system, a candidate may have secured only 15 per cent votes but is declared victorious by virtue of his winning the highest number of votes. But, the fact is that 85 per cent of the voters have not voted for him. Instead, it would be much fair if the party which polls the maximum percentage of votes is declared the winner and, then, that party could chose the right candidate to represent it in Parliament. Speaking about the strengths and weaknesses of the election system in India, Mr Krishnamurthy said that the fathers of our Constitution were farsighted in making the Election Commission answerable to none of the political parties and giving it the Constitutional right to conduct elections without the interference of the parties. He said this system has helped in holding fair and free polls without being made puppets of the ruling party. Even in England, there is no Election Commission and, over there, it is a referendum which is held and not an election. "Even though we were a colony of England we have a better democratic set-up thanks to the foresight of the fathers of our Constitution," he remarked. The CEC said that it was imperative to formulate a Model Code of Conduct and if these regulations are not in place then we would have great difficulty in conducting the polls. He said there are major deficiencies in our system which need to be addressed and cited the example of the ceiling on expenditure. At present, a candidate can spend upto a certain amount for Parliamentary elections, but there are loopholes which allow him to accept money from friends and family which is not counted as personal expenditure. "The one way to check this anamoly is to enforce a ceiling for political parties instead of an individual only". The CEC also wanted the political parties to practise internal democracy. At the moment we have parties which are led by one leader till his or her death. This is not a good sign and we need to impress upon political parties the need for proper internal democracy, he added. The Chief Election Commissioner also asked the voters to exercise their francise. In a country like India, it is difficult to implement compulsory voting, so we need to carry out voter awarness drives, he said. (UNI) RSS accuses Centre of strengthening terrorism MANGALORE, Mar 12: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) today accused the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre of spreading and strengthening terrorist activities across the country. The Akhila Bharatiya Pratinithi Sabha (ABPS) of the RSS, which commenced its three-day session here under its chief K S Sudarshan, said the UPA Government’s decision to hold parleys with ultras, instead of crushing them ruthlessly, had enabled terrorist organisations to enhance their security and preparedness. In his report in the inaugural session, RSS general secretary Mohanrao Bhagwat said, "terrorists have utilised this truce period to enhance their security, preparedness and clout in the political climate of the country. "They have publicly displayed their disloyalty to and disregard for our Constitution several times," he said, adding that talks with terrorists had seldom had any impact on containing terrorism. Instead, it had only demoralised the police and administration. He said, "we can imagine the serious consequences of our administration turning a blind eye to all this by looking at the developments in the neighbourhood Nepal." Briefing newspersons later, RSS spokesman Ram Madhav said those who strongly advocated talks with Pakistan, terrorists and separatists on the Kashmir issue had completely ignored the sad plight of Kashmiri Pandits, who had been uprooted from their own homes and hearths for more than 24 years. The promises made by parties to provide a dignified return to Kashmiri Pandits still remained a promise as they continue to live as refugees in their own country. Urging the Hindus of the country to unite as a strong force, Mr Bhagwat said such a force could put an end to the politics of minorityism in the country and lead to equal justice and equal opportunities for all. Referring to the 2001 census, he said it had brought out a glaring imbalance in the population growth rate. "Parties, which call themselves secular, but which have their eyes singularly focused on vote banks, have been ignoring the moral threat." These parties had brushed aside Constitutional obligations and directives and make "treacherous and divisive commitments like reservations on the basis of religion, etc" in their blind appeasement of the minorities. He said the Supreme Court in several of its judgements had categorically stated that "Hindu does not denote any religion and it is a way and view of life, encompassing several ways of worship. It is in the interest of the nation to put an early end to this concept of minorityism," he added. (UNI) |
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